Great question! Here are some of my favorites:
- My favorite vegetarian chili recipe: http://www.slate.com/blogs... (it's even billed for the Super Bowl!)
- Cauliflower "wings" http://cupcakesandkalechips... (have also seen this done in restaurants with Buffalo sauce)
- This one's a bit abstract, but we made this stuffing - http://www.sporkful.com... - wrapped balls of it in Morningstar Farms bacon, and skewered them with toothpicks before baking in the oven. Big hit among vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike.
- The ever-popular deviled egg https://food52.com/blog...Bonus: most of these are fairly protein-heavy, which is something I always appreciate as a vegetarian, vs. having to fill up on crudites and desserts.

I read an article recently (I believe in Bon Appétit) about creating a build-your-own-Italian-hero bar, and I thought how much fun it would be to do a vegetarian version. Some different veggies, sliced thinly and roasted; few different sauces and spreads (homemade or otherwise; pimento cheese? a variety of hummus flavors? some pesto?); and even an assortment of delicious breads.

Make an easy black bean dip - drain and rinse a can of black beans, add salt, pepper, a bit of chili powder or smoked paprika, cumin, some cilantro and a clove of garlic (+ hot sauce, if you like), a splash of white vinegar or lime juice and blitz with olive oil in the food processor. Good with tortilla or pita chips or veggies. Artichoke dip is one of our family favorites (even for the meat-eaters) but with mayonnaise is not vegan, though stays vegetarian.

Yes to artichoke dip, in many flavor variations. If you want to use a mayo-like spread for vegans, consider Vegenaise salad dressing (a mayo almost-clone, available in health food and many regular grocery stores). Or make mayonnaise using soft tofu instead of raw egg as the emulsifying agent.

there is a really obscenely unhealthy but delicious hot dip one of my coworkers won our dip contest with...i'm sure the recipe is easy to find. it involves velvetta cheese, cream cheese, green onions sliced and a can of chili (his was chili con carne but i'm sure without carne would be delish too). depends on how healthy you want your Bowlers to be!

One of my popular post is 7 Vegetarian Side-dishes for a Stress-free Party
http://yourguardianchef...I describe all the steps to prepare them all in 3 hours and you can get a head start the day before.

My Denver inspired suggestions would be -
1) Cook with craft beer! Beer cheese dip (thebeeroness.com has lots of ideas)
2) Green chile (usually with pork but you could easily do a veg. friendly version)
3) Breakfast burritos (great for the pre-gaming, or a good Monday morning hang over remedy!)
4) Burritos in general
5) Grilled ______ (fill in the blank). Despite the snow, we like to grill year-round.
6) Burgers/sliders (you could do black bean or quinoa burgers as a veg. option)

Stephanie, great for taking up the Colorado/Denver challenge.
Dare we suggest mash-ups...:)
craft beer to drink with the appetizers;
one of the breads or biscuits under your green chile, burriots or sliders.
Etc etc.